In the United States, the most well-known skin-penetrating parasitic worm, called a nematode, is the hookworm. But globally, ...

Threadworms are very common affecting nearly half of all children under 10 and often adults in the same family at some time. Because threadworm infection usually causes no symptoms in most children ...

Globally, over 600 million people are infected with the skin-penetrating threadworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions with poor sanitation infrastructure.

Threadworms spend up to 10 minutes exploring human skin before finding the best place to burrow in. When a specific dopamine signal is blocked, the worms almost completely stop trying to penetrate the ...